Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas
The crowning achievement of the City of Literature initiative will be the establishment of Australia's first Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas at the State Library in 2009. It will be a hub for Victoria's literary and publishing community, promoting reading and ideas, and a 'one-stop shop' for the public focussing Victoria's widespread literary activity in a single central location.
The Centre will occupy the currently unused Barry and Verdon Halls of the State Library of Victoria, creating a hub for writers and literary organisations including Victorian Writers Centre, Melbourne Writers Festival, Emerging Writers Festival, Express Media, the Australian Poetry Centre.
It will also include a new Centre management organisation to coordinate the facilities and public programs, and undertake new keynote public events including international speakers.
Fitout of the building will include:
- Office accommodation for small literary organisations, with discrete offices, open plan work areas (to foster collaboration), meeting rooms, and workshop spaces.
- Hot desks for short-term use by other writers and organisations as required.
- A central CBD public presentation space accommodating up to 200 people with adjacent areas for reception and catering for use by tenants and other literary organisations across Victoria, for a range of events including the annual Premier's Literary Awards, lectures, launches, seminars, and performances
- Public access to the book collections of the Writer's Centre and Poetry Centre
- Commercial space for a cafe and bookstore
- High profile street frontage along Little Lonsdale Street
Overall, the Centre will provide permanent accommodation for several organisations and temporary access for many others, with a combined staff of 29 and about 850 volunteers. Combined program activity and usage by tenants of the Centre will attract around 100,000 people each year, at the Centre and beyond.
The Centre will be a new, highly productive literary hub, part of a burgeoning cultural precinct, alongside State Library of Victoria and close to Melbourne and RMIT Universities, dedicated to literature and ideas activity including lectures, book and magazine launches, poetry recitals, book readings, seminars, symposia, debates, and awards.
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